Oilers end road trip with a shutout over Quad City

Having lost the last two games, the Tulsa Oilers needed to rebound, and do it quickly, as they battle two other teams for only two playoff spots. Coming to an end of an eight-game road trip, they rolled into Moline, Illinios to take on the Quad City Mallards. Both teams have been evenly matched this season, with Tulsa having a 2-2-0-1 record against the Mallards this season.

After giving up 12 goals over the last two games, the Oilers defense found their groove in front of goaltender Kevin Carr, allowing only seven shots in the first period. The offense put up 15 shots in the first period against Parker Milner and finally hit paydirt at the 19:04 mark of the first period. A turnover caused by captain Nathan Lutz led to an odd-man rush by the Oilers and a goal by T.J. Caig, his nineteenth of the season.

The second period saw the only other scoring of the game, midway through the frame at 10:38. An interception by Adam Pleskach on a pass found Jeff Jubinville in front of the net, and Jubinville ripped it past Milner to make it a 2-0 game. Jubinville picked up his 22nd goal of the season, extending his point streak to six games.

Both teams traded power play chances the rest of the contest, but both goalies stood tall through the end of the game, and the Oilers left Moline with the 2-0 win over the Mallards. Finishing out the eight-game road trip, the Oilers went 6-2 on the road trip.

The league’s second-leading scorer Drew Fisher finished the game with three shots on goal, and a +1 rating, but was unable to hit the scoresheet.

Quad City out-shot the Oilers through the game, 31-28. Kevin Carr was up to the task, stopping all 31 shots, and earning his third shutout of the season. The win improves Carr to 22-15-2 on the season. Parker Milner turned away 26-of-28 shots in the loss, falling to 16-13-1.

Neither power play unit succeeded in the match, as Tulsa went 0-for-3 with the man-advantage and Quad City went 0-for-4.

Against the Mallards this season, Kevin Carr improves to 3-1-1 with a 1.78 GAA and .948 SV%.

The win moved the Oilers into third place with 60 points, but an overtime loss by the Rapid City Rush against the Wichita Thunder moved both the Rush and Thunder right behind with 59 points.

Tulsa will have an eight-day break until their next game, keeping an eye on the standings as they wait. They’ll be back home on March 13th against the Wichita Thunder at the BOK Center.